Michelle, 43, from Sydney's Northern Beaches, tells 9Honey her son has recently started struggling to cope with his condition.

Ryder's eczema began when he was a baby. (Supplied)

"He's now at an age when he asks, 'Why me? Why are people staring at me? Why do I have to have this?'

"He got bullied on the second day of school this year so then there were two to three hours of crying for him to go to school for the term," she says.

Michelle says her son says he wishes he could just tell people he has chicken pox because it's "better than eczema".

People often assume the boy has chicken pox or is suffering from sunburn. (Supplied)

"He gets irritable easily because he has trouble sleeping because he is scratching," she says. "He loses it easier than other people."

Although Michelle describes her son as "a pretty tough guy".

"He's a pretty tough guy, pretty resilient, until the last six months because he's fed up with it and now that he's in primary school other children's comments really affect him," she says.

Michelle says some kids call him a "monkey" because he scratches so much. They are even confronted by strangers in the street.

"We get people stopping us in the street and saying to him, 'What have you done to yourself?' Or they will question why we are out in public when he has Chicken Pox. One woman said, 'What kind of mother are you?'"

She recalls a woman at a popular theme park calling Ryder "silly" and suggesting next time he use sunblock after assuming he was suffering from sunburn, before turning to Michelle and asking why she hadn't sought medical attention for her son.

Michelle says some kids call him a "monkey" because he scratches so much. (Supplied)

"It upsets him and it upsets me but he holds it together until we get home," she says. "I am a little bit more resilient now."

Michelle, husband Jess, 44, and older brother Jay, 12, do their best to help Ryder live a normal life.

Ryder's eczema began when he was four months.

The mother-of-two says it took months for her son to be properly diagnosed.

"I took him to quite a few doctors," she recalls. "They said it was Roseola and then another said they thought it was eczema, and gave me cream and told me to put it all over him.

"It was the worst cream possible for Ryder."

"His whole body was covered in it and he was itchy and couldn't sleep," she says. "I had to put socks on his hands to stop him scratching and it wasn't until Ryder was admitted to hospital with a gastric bug that she met the medical professionals who would ultimately help her son experience some relief.

"We met an amazing paediatrician named Hugh Allen and he introduced us to Gail Fisher, a leading dermatologist who has changed our lives," she says.

Michelle says she was eventually taught how to wet wrap Ryder, to help cool his irritated skin, and use skin treatments better suited to her son.

'His whole body was covered in it and he was itchy and couldn't sleep.' (Supplied)

"He used to be on antibiotics a lot because he would scratch his skin and it would become infected," she says.

Ryder is bathed in bleach each day, a process Michelle says soothes her son's eczema.

"At first I was petrified to bathe him in bleach, but the hospital taught me how to do it."

Unfortunately for Ryder, his eczema affects his face, making it difficult to hide from others.

"So he finds it really hard to go to school sometimes, but the school has been pretty good," she says. "They brought in a portable air conditioner for him."

During this Eczema Awareness Week, Michelle wants other parents of sufferers to do whatever it takes to find a doctor who understands their child's eczema, and to be diligent in discovering the treatments that work for them.

This week is Eczema Awareness Week. (Supplied)

"A lot of people will comment on Ryder's skin and then come up with every remedy possible," she says.

Through excellent medical care, Michelle says Ryder's condition is "better than it has been in years".

He takes prescribed medication, uses cream all over his body each day and is wet wrapped, even before playing rugby.

Michelle says they try and ensure Ryder has as normal a life as possible. (Supplied)

And she wants members of the public to think twice before saying something potentially cruel or naive about her son's condition.

"Say 'hi' to Ryder and ask how he is instead of asking how his skin is, or asking why he looks like that," she says.

"And if you know someone with eczema, just support them," she says.

'If you know someone with eczema, just support them.' (Supplied)

"We don't put him in a bubble," she says. "We let him do the stuff he wants, even if it sometimes makes his eczema worse.